Some municipalities have come to rely upon sound detection as a tool for crime prevention. Fixed-location audio sensors are distributed throughout a geographic area, such as a neighborhood, a town, or a city. The audio sensors are networked with a central processing system. The central processing system continually monitors the sounds provided by the various sensors to determine whether any detected sound is indicative of a potential crime.
Audio provided from the sensors to the central processing system is compared with signatures of various sounds. For example, audio from the sensors can be compared with signatures for gunshots, breaking glass, or the like. If a portion of audio matches the signature of one, or more, of the sounds, the central processing system can determine that the event, e.g., a gunshot, a window being broken, likely happened in the vicinity of the sensor that sent the audio.
When such a sound is detected, a response team can be dispatched to the location at which the sound was detected. While this sort of system has been successfully used to reduce crime, it can be costly to deploy. The system requires the installation of specialized audio sensors and networking equipment throughout a geographic area. The cost of installing the audio sensors alone can be significant even before the other components of the system are considered.